Congratulations 👏👏👏 to Rookie Coach Adam Nester as the Nester Nine clinched the Three Rivers District Championship Saturday afternoon with its 8-4 victory over the Knights of James River High School.
Carroll County exploded for all eight runs 🏃♂️ in the bottom of the third inning when 13 Cavaliers made their way to the plate. Nine base knocks led to the eight runs with the big stick belonging to Bryce Nicholson.
It would be fun to fact check how many times in the history of baseball ⚾️ that a player had a single inning in which they reached base on a dropped third strike, came around the score the first run and roughly 10 minutes later capped the uprising with a 3-run bomb 💣.
Nicholson scored two runs and picked up three RBIS in the half inning. Peyton Goad did okay for himself as well by going 2 for 2 with a run scored and a stolen base. Reid Horton duplicated those same numbers in the third.
Horton was absolutely fantastic on the mound, going 4 & 2/3 with only two base hits allowed. There were eight strikeouts recorded against just two walks. Colton Quesenberry earned the save by pitching the final two plus innings.
James River made things interesting in the top of the seventh inning with a three run rally after two outs were recorded. Quesenberry struck out Lucas Lawyer with the tying run to seal up the Championship for the Cavaliers.
The team still has a regular season game scheduled at Bill Worrell Field on Tuesday evening against Radford. Carroll County High School will be looking to close out a one loss season and it has been announced that the Three Rivers District will not be holding a #1 versus #2 post season tournament.
Ryan Phillips and Jason Hart both assisted Nester this season as the trio took the baton from Combs after he stepped up to become the Assistant Coach on Varsity.
James River …… 000 001 3 – 4
Carroll County…008 000 X – 8
Winning Pitcher – Reid Horton
16 wins out of 17 games with eight shutouts recorded along the way. Not bad work for a Rookie Head Coach but Nester won’t wait around for Combs and Burcham to stroke his Ego. Listen closely and you can hear Combs saying ” I loosened the jar for you.”
Tuesday afternoon at Bill Worrell Field will be one final opportunity to catch this overly impressive group and their Coaches in action 🎬.
Fun note 📝 during the Junior Varsity game, we had some fun by sharing a Fun Fact about each of the six Varsity Seniors.
Here’s the list that we came up with :
Cody Reece was actually leading the eventual State Champs 🏆 Spotswood, 9-8 by himself in the State Quarterfinals.
Jacky Turman is the Senior Class President.
Ben Phillips once held a State Championship in a category of Martial Arts down in North Carolina.
Gage Nicholson is a HUGE fan of all things Mayo ! This one drew the largest applause.
Britt Berrier qualified to Swim 🏊♂️ in the State Meet for the Cavaliers after just one year of ever jumping into the pool!
Slade Quesenberry is so dedicated to the Cavaliers Baseball ⚾️ program, so much so that the young man 👨 is still missing a tooth that he displaced earlier this season out in left field.
Final thought – props to Coach Burcham for his day long efforts on the Diamond 💎 after the latest storm early Saturday morning.
A.S.P.N on The Hill 